Keeping a dog occupied while it is alone at home

[Raesene]

I'm considering adopting a dog (14 months old labrador mix, male, neutered) that seems to crave attention.

When going for a walk and not being the center of attention, it eats shit, preferably when someone yells no. After some exercises, a very short run beside me and being stroked and being the center of attention, it ignored all previously very interesting animal leavings and moved briskly along without looking at them.

Any tips to reinforce the positive behavior of ignoring shit and what would you, dog owners and lovers of SD.net, recommend to keep such a dog, should I adopt it, from destroying my furniture while it is alone at home while I'm at work ? He might be alone for 9-10 hours regularly, at most 11 when I have to finish something critical. Or am I an egoistic bastard for thinking about adopting a dog and then leaving it alone for so long ?

[madd0ct0r]

do you have a garden?

could you adopt a 2nd dog to keep each other company?

[General Zod]

Do you have a yard? Because if not this is a terrible idea with that kind of breed. Labs need a lot of physical activity or they can and will destroy shit.

[Elheru Aran]

Do you have a yard? Because if not this is a terrible idea with that kind of breed. Labs need a lot of physical activity or they can and will destroy shit.

I second this. I haven't owned any dogs but my uncle is a professional hunter/game guide, and he keeps Labs. They definitely need a dog-run at the very least, if not a fenced yard.

[General Zod]

Do you have a yard? Because if not this is a terrible idea with that kind of breed. Labs need a lot of physical activity or they can and will destroy shit.

I second this. I haven't owned any dogs but my uncle is a professional hunter/game guide, and he keeps Labs. They definitely need a dog-run at the very least, if not a fenced yard.

I had a black lab growing up and he was super energetic. If he got inside the house and was left alone for any length of time he had no problem destroying things for his own amusement.

[Mr Bean]

For labs there are two general groups
Group one
Leave me alone and I'm busting out of here! Let me dig my escape tunnel via the drywall.

Group two
Going to sleep see you in twelve hours

Sad to say Group Two can become Group One and the reverse is also true. The only way to be sure is to take them for a big (20+ minute) walk before you leave for work and come back to see how many of your possessions got eaten for a week or two.

[Lagmonster]

I don't think there's anything that can be fairly said to be a 'single working person' dog, the kind who you only see in the mornings and evenings and stays in a crate or home all day. If that's your lifestyle, get a cat.

[salm]

Some work places allow people to bring their dog.
The last office I worked in had one. It was great. It was ancient so it slept most of the time but I imagine a lively young dog would be great for the general work enviroment as well.

[General Zod]

Some work places allow people to bring their dog.
The last office I worked in had one. It was great. It was ancient so it slept most of the time but I imagine a lively young dog would be great for the general work enviroment as well.

The place I worked at in Denver was pretty chill about letting people bring in pets but since most of the employees had one it's not something you could expect to do every day.

[Raesene]

Some work places allow people to bring their dog.
The last office I worked in had one. It was great. It was ancient so it slept most of the time but I imagine a lively young dog would be great for the general work enviroment as well.

That would be great but is not possible at my current workplace - pharmaceutical manufacturing and live animals don't mix, unfortunately. My colleagues would be favorable, but rules and regulations forbid it.

[salm]

Some work places allow people to bring their dog.
The last office I worked in had one. It was great. It was ancient so it slept most of the time but I imagine a lively young dog would be great for the general work enviroment as well.

That would be great but is not possible at my current workplace - pharmaceutical manufacturing and live animals don't mix, unfortunately. My colleagues would be favorable, but rules and regulations forbid it.

Yeah, they´d vivisect it in no time.

[Solauren]

Labs are an interesting breed.

I'd recommend a lot of toys that can interact with it, and having a good sized yard helped. So do 30+ minute walks, or bike rides if you can trust it not to run away from the bike. (Do not leash your dog to you bike unless the dog is literally pulling the bike along).

[Simon_Jester]

The neighbors in the apartment above me last year kept two dogs who would run around all over the place when they were out.

This, among other things, is why I and my wife finally moved out of that apartment and spent the next several months in a state of aargh.

The noise was intolerable. The problem wasn't so much when we were sleeping, as when we were trying to concentrate, work, study, relax, or do basically anything during the day. The dogs weren't the only reason there was a problem, but they were a problem... and so was the neighbors' refusal to actually do anything to mitigate the noise coming from their apartment and hammering on our ceiling.

From your post, Raesene, I don't know if you live in an apartment or a house. But if you live in an apartment, condominium, rowhouse, or other structure that is physically attached to the neighboring ones rather than being a freestanding building...

I strongly recommend you NOT get a dog unless you are quite sure that all your neighbors are okay with random noises and barking. Otherwise there is a good chance you'll have to deal with complaints. And you're a decent human being so you'll find dealing with the complaints a hassle and can't just take the arrogant jerk route of ignoring them.

[Minischoles]

Honestly for the hours you'll be working, a dog is not a good idea - at the very least he's going to piss everywhere during the day.

Get a cat - with your working hours a dog isn't practical.

[Raesene]

Unfortunately I'm allergic to cats, otherwise I'd already have one (at least)

It's an apartment, but we seem to be well isolated as I've never heard a neighbour's dog (or anything else).

[Napoleon the Clown]

Dogs don't do well alone for ten hours or more at a time. They're social creatures and don't understand that you have to be gone for several hours. It would be bad for the dog to get into a situation like this.


A couple domesticated rats might be a better choice. I'm not an expert on them by any means, but I do know they're smart little critters and keep pretty clean. They're friendly enough you can handle them and have them run around up your arms and across your shoulders. You might need to put more effort into finding a vet that will know how to treat them, though, so keep that in mind should you consider them.

[GuppyShark]

There might be other dog breeds more suited for your situation, or older dogs that have outlived their puppy stages and are just looking for a quiet place to live and the occasional human cuddle.

[TheFeniX]

Dogs above 40 or so pounds are not really apartment dogs unless you are willing to board them (doggy "resorts" have gone crazy, they're like day-spas) during the day or make sure to spend a considerable amount of time with them when you get home. You basically have to run or rough-house the energy out of them and they probably have more energy than you do, especially labs and retrievers.

I'm not going to come out and say only bad dog owners leave their animal alone for 8-10 hours. An adopted dog is probably going to do better there than sitting at an adoption agency or getting put down. But you'd likely be better served with something in the spaniel or terrier family. Cockers are still popular and there's many to adopt. They don't chew as much as other dogs (note: dogs do vary) but they can bark for hours on end. It does not get old for them. There's other dogs, so you might be inclined to check out adoption center for different breeds. I just would avoid anything over 30 lbs unless you have a yard.

Smaller dogs can generally go many hours without being outside, as long as they are kept in a cool place with water. Mine go from Sleeping all day to wrestling for a bit. I plan to leave the dog door open again, once all the construction is done. You'd think when I got home after 9 hours, they'd go bonkers. And they do.... for about 15-30 minutes of playtime a day before they get bored and wander off. They are fairly low-maintenance dogs except that they prefer to be involved in whatever you do, but don't need or want attention directed specifically at them.

Labs and Retrievers are pushy about it. Don't get me wrong, I love them, but they generally need tons of directed attention until they hit 5+ years. You might be better served getting 2 small dogs. This really evened out Jake (the Black one). He couldn't be trusted around other dogs before then. That said, even though the food cost of two small dogs will likely be less than one large one, your vet bills will be higher and it's obviously harder to manhandle two dogs than one.

[Enigma]

Certain Bulldog breeds I believe can be left alone for hours at a time without issues. This is going by memory but I remember reading about American Bulldogs. You could leave them alone in one spot and they'd still be laying there some hours later. They don't have much energy to begin with.

[Themightytom]

Yeah I don't know about this Raesene, I live in an apartment and I don't even leave my two cats alone for nine hours, and cats are as self sufficient as it gets. They are domesticated, there are two of them to keep each other company, they obviously use the litter box, and I Can Still Tell When I Have Been Gone Too Long, Based On The Wreckage. I grew up with dogs too, so I know their behaviors. We had enough land for them to run around on when we weren't around. They really don't like to be cooped up, even when there was like three feet of snow out and it was full on ice storm, the dogs want to go out. Pets depend on you for everything, including quality of life. Maybe get a ferret a turtle or a snake, something with a much smaller territory than a dog. it sounds like you already bonded with the dog, so if you DO end up adopting it, try to get friends to walk or play with him for you during the the day. You'd actually be surprised how many people will be willing if he's friendly.

[Jaepheth]

There are also dog day care businesses that will allow your dog to hang out with other dogs and care workers during the day. The one I know of costs ~$2.50 per hour; so that might be an option for you.

[Alyrium Denryle]

Unfortunately I'm allergic to cats, otherwise I'd already have one (at least)

It's an apartment, but we seem to be well isolated as I've never heard a neighbour's dog (or anything else).

There are a few breeds of hypoallergenic cat.

But yeah... retrivers of any kind are absolutely wonderful dogs. But likely not for someone with your work schedule and lifestyle. These are dogs that love to chase things, swim, run around, chew on things, swim, play with humans, cuddle with humans, swim, make new animal friends (or lovingly chew on their animal friends, they dont have any aggression in them usually but accidents happen with small birds sometimes), dig, and swim*.

They need a lot of space (best case scenario with regular access to open water), and they need attention. A family with kids is one thing. Single dude is another. Especially when the dog is only 14 months old. 8-10+ years they tend to mellow out... but a 14 month old dog will eat your couch if you leave it alone for 9 hours, irrespective of any toys it might have access to.

Other dogs might work better for you, and there is always the adoption option for them too. The problem is of course that any of the really really good kinda lazy apartment dogs who will do well with limited space and long work days is also a dog that is outrageously inbred or have anatomical features that make them unhealthy (like the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, which often has a skull too small for its brain leading to massive neurological problems), so you will want to find a smaller mix breed ideally.

*Sometimes you find a lab that does not like water, but this is a rare condition. It is also possible that they are water dogs who dont know it yet. Happened with my brother's dog. He was afraid of the pool (that's right, afraid if an inanimate object. He is also likely to lick a burglar's face and love them to death). Then we introduced him to it by gently coaxing him in. His desire to be cuddled overrode his fear of the pool. It took him 5 seconds to learn that he LOVED swimming, and now keeping him out of the pool is impossible.

[General Zod]

Certain Bulldog breeds I believe can be left alone for hours at a time without issues. This is going by memory but I remember reading about American Bulldogs. You could leave them alone in one spot and they'd still be laying there some hours later. They don't have much energy to begin with.

One friend of mine has bulldogs and he's on the road all the time (he takes them with him), but he has two so they can keep each other company when he's at work.

[Dominus Atheos]

Put me down as another vote for two older (4+) smaller dogs, preferably rescued from the pound.